1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having image reading means for reading an image and image forming means for forming an image on a sheet and being capable of performing a predetermined processing on the sheet having an image formed thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as there is growing demand for miniaturization of copying machines, a number of copying machines of the type shown in FIG. 14 have been developed.
FIG. 14 is a schematic sectional view of a digital type of copying machine designed for miniaturization. Image information of a document fed to a reading section by ADF 200, which is an automatic document feeder, or a document with a face to be read looking downward and directly placed on a document-placing table by a user is read by optical means at a reader 201. The read image information is converted into an electrical signal (digital signal) by electrical converting means such as an image pick-up element.
The image information converted into an electrical signal is transmitted to a controller (not shown), which is a controller of an image forming section, so that based on the signal, an image is formed on a sheet fed from a paper feeding cassette 204 or a manual paper feeder 205. The image is formed by a known electrophotographic technology such as an image forming unit, (which is a process cartridge 202 for example), conveying means, and fixing means.
The sheet having the image formed thereon is discharged and stacked up in a discharging section 208, which is a space disposed between the image forming section and an image reading section. Since the discharging section, which has been conventionally protruded sideways to the apparatus, can be contained within the space for the image forming apparatus, it has greatly contributed to the miniaturization of the apparatus.
However, improvement in copying productivity has been demanded as well as the miniaturization in a copying machine, so that a processing device 210 (referred to as a finisher below) is developed for sorting, stapling, perforating, and folding the sheet with the image formed thereon. As shown in FIG. 15, such a finisher comprises a finisher conveying section 207 for conveying a sheet from a paper discharging roller 206 to the finisher 210 in a paper discharging section 208 and is placed in the side of the apparatus.
In such a manner, when the finisher is attached to a copying machine intended for miniaturization, the finisher also projects sideways just like the conventional one, so that demands for miniaturization and high copying productivity have not been compatible together.
In view of the problem, the present invention has been made and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus being compatible with miniaturization of the apparatus and high copying productivity and also having improved usability by a user, and specifically to provide an image forming apparatus capable of improving extractability of a sheet with an image formed thereon and convenience in reading a sheet document and a so-called book document such as a book or a magazine. In accordance with these objects, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising a sheet supporter for accommodating a sheet on which an image is to be formed; an image former disposed above the sheet supporter for forming an image on a sheet; document reader disposed above the image former having a document placing table on which a document is to be placed for reading image information of the document; an automatic document feeder disposed above the document reader in which a document is feedable to the document reader and which is displaceable so as to open the document placing table of the document reader; and a sheet discharging section on which a sheet with an image formed thereon by the image former is discharged and stacked. As noted, the above components are arranged in the image forming apparatus from the lower part thereof toward the upper part in order, wherein the image former comprises a transferring section for transferring a sheet with an image formed thereon by the image former to the sheet discharging section, and wherein the sheet discharging section is held movably in a vertical direction by the transferring section.
Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.